Lifting and mounting device for outboard motors



Sept. 8, 1959 G. E. DAVIS, JR

LIFTING AND MOUNTING DEVICE FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS 2 sheets sheet 1 Filed F eb. '7, 195a INVENTOR.

George E Dav/'6 all.

Sept. 8, 1959 (5.1:. DAVIS, JR 2,903,147

LIF'TING AND MOUNTING DEVICE FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 7, 1958 INVENT OR.

650/92 1 DOV/l9 c/f.

United States Patent LIFTING AND' MOUNTING DEVICE FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS.

George E'. Davis, Jr., Miami, Fla.,. assiguor of one-half" to Cameron E. Justason, Miami, Fla.

ApplicationFebruary 7,.1958, Serial No. 713,953

'5 Claims; (Cl; 214-812) The present invention relates tohand trucks in general andimore especially. to a vehicle of this type particularly adapted. as amount for outboard motors.

The main' object of the invention is to-facilitate handlingof'the: recently marketed heavier, high powered, out,- hoard; motors in. their placement on and removal. from the transom of outboard motor boats.

To provide a wheeledivehiclev for. the. purpose setfortlr whichwill accommodate all makes of outboard motors. irrespective of-design, Weight, size and length of theven tical drive shaft, and one which may be used as an overhaul. stand :for the motor, and allow apan to be placed thereunder to catch oil drip, are further objects of the invention.

Another object of the invention is the elimination of having to lift and shift the position of the motorsby hand in mountngthem on and. removing them from the boat transoms. This is important if for no other reason thanpersonal safety as many ofthe modern outboard motors weigh 200 lbs. and more.

Other objects of the. invention are to. suspend a motor. from a pair.- of' brackets. extending forward from. liftingmeans carried by a hand truck; to so form these brackets that: no fastening. devices are required: for holding. the motor in place; and, to support themotor from'the rear withyits; mounting hangers facing outward, away from the. truck. This latter feature is also of importance as it avoids having to turn the motor around on the truck when rolled to the stern of a boat for mounting.

Another object is to provide a hand truck which while standing at ground level will, by manually operable. elevator' means associated therewith, lift an outboard motor the. necessary height and then, when the truck is moved forward, automatically lower the motor over the. transom ofa boat in-position to be clamped thereon without having, to turn it' around. This is accomplished even. when the boatis on a trailer, and bya reversal of'the process a motor canbe. removed directly from a. boat. by use of the. same hand truck.

The motor. lift is slidable up anddown on side arms. of the truck frame and itsisanother object of the invention to. manuallycontrol operation of thelift by such' simple means as. an automobile type bumper jack built into the truck- To these and other ends pertainingmore. to structural details the invention consists of certain parts and combinations of parts as will be morerfully set forthin the following detaileddesoription and particularly defined in..the appended-claims.

Theaccompanying drawings illustrating'a preferred embodiment of the invention are. as follows:

Figure- 1. is: a side view of the invent-ionashowing an outboard motor supported thereon, the latter being in dotted outline. In this view the truck is shown inproxinrity to the stern of'an outboard motorboat placed on aboat trailer; only fragmentary portions of the, boat and trailer being illustrated.

2,903,147. Patented Sept. 8, 1959-;

Figure 2V is a sectional detail on line 2-2 of: Figure 1, looking. in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is. a. front elevation of the truck as viewed from. theright of Figure 1..

Figure4 is a plan view of the parts seen in Figure 5.

Figure. 5 is a rear view in elevation of the motor lift.

Figure 6 is a rear view in elevation of the lift supporting member and the jack stem integral therewith.

Figure. 7 is a plan View on line 77 of Figure 1.

It isto. benoted that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and that such changes in design: and construction may be made which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

In. the drawings similar reference numerals refer to'sirnilar parts. throughout the several views.

The truckframe, indicated. generally by numeral-8, includes a pair. of upright side. arms 9-and. 10 formedwith identical bends. 11 adjacent their lower ends, these bends 1'1.- terminating. in forwardly extending lateral portions 9 and .10? for. the arms 9. and 10 respectively. A transverse tie bar, 12, preferably of fiat stock, connects the free outer ends of'theframe portions 9 and 10 The arms 9' and 10 are formed of round metal tubing and at-approximately the top of the. bends 11v are rigidly connected by a second transverse bar 13. This bar. 13 likewise is oftubular, stockand provides. a housing for an axle 14 on which are mounted a pair of. wide tread rubber tired traction wheel's-15. Removable. protection caps 16 are shown on the upper ends. of the. arms 9. and 10..

Slidahle on the frame. members 9 and 10 are apair of sleeves 17 integrally formed with a transverse. bar 18;

from the center of which and securedthereto, as. by welding. is the stem member 19 of. what is commonly known as an automobile. bumper jack, and on the. rear face of which, as seen in dotted lines. in Figure 1 and in full lines in Figure 6, are asuccession of ratchet. teeth 20. The bar1'8 is rigidly secured. to the membersfiand lllby bolts 21 inserted through. openings therefor in the sleeves 1:7; and aligned" openings 22. in. the parts 9 and 10. There are a plurality of these holes 22 in spaced relation one above the. other so that the height of the bar 187 onthe. frame -8 maybe predetermined.

The outboard motor lift is indicated. generally by nu.- meral" 23. and, is. shown as a. sub assembly in. Figures4- and"5.1. Thi'sum't 23 includestopand bottom-cross bars 24s and 25, respect-ively, spaced in the. same. planetoneabove the. other and like the. bar 18'. areintegrally formed. at their ends with sleeves 26.for. the bar 24 and like sleeves 27. for the bar 25,. these sleeves also being slidably fitted to. their corresponding. frame members 9 and 10. Parallel pieces 28'. of angle iron rigidly hold'the bars 24 and.2'5. in.proper spaced relation. Also welded. tothe bars24 and 25' and arranged directly in front of the jaok stem- 19 is a center bar 29 which for the greater part. of. its length has a forward offset portion 29 in which are a plurality of aligned openings 30 for a purpose later. to. be described.

lntegrally formed with the bar 24, on its. rear face, is the bodyor housing 31" through which the jack stems 19 is; slidable. The jack is operated by the up' and down movement of the lever pivoted in the body 31 and whi'clr actuates the pawls, not shown, as the jack is of'the well; known. bumper: type and: its: detailed construction. forms nopart" of. the present invention. A rod 33 bent U.-shape and having its ends threadedto receive clamping nuts.34. is attached to the bar. 24. and extending. rearward:- ly therefrom provides a handle for the t-ruckS; The rod: 33, could be.we1ded-instead. ofhaving clamping nuts; 34. Apair. ofbrackets 35. extend. forward and angularlyv upward from the bar 24 and at. their. outer ends are U-shape; to provide transversely aligned seats-for receiving. and supporting a bar 43' of the motor being carried by the truck. The brackets 35 are reinforced by bracing pieces 35 in the manner clearly shown.

In assembly of the truck the jack support bar 18 is placed in the center of the lift unit 23 with the jack stem 19 extending through the body 31 and corresponding guide sleeve 27, 17 and 26 on the bars 25, 18 and 24 in alrgnment. The pairs of sleeves 27, 17 and 26 are then in the order named successively slid on the frame members 9 and 10 until the bolt holes in the sleeves 17 are in registry with selected opposite holes 22 in the members 9 and 10. When in this position the sleeves 17 are clamped in place by the bolts 21 and nuts thereon.

By selecting the desired pair of holes 22 in which to bolt sleeves 17 the height of bar 18 may be determined and the truck is thus adjustable to take motors of different length shafts.

4 A coiled spring 37 anchored at 38 to one of the lift members 28 and at 39 to the frame bar 13 serves to maintam moderate tension on the lift 23 and keeps the jack from slipping. The spring 37 will also retract the lift 23 to down position when the operating lever 32 of the jack 1s in its down position. It will be observed that with the ratchet or stem 19 as the fixed member of the jack the body 31 becomes the movable member and is raised by downward movement of the lever 32 thus raising the lift 23 which is an integral part of the member 31.

At 40 in Figure 1 is a typical illustration of an outboard motor. At the rear and under an overhanging top portion 41 of the motor housing are studs or bolts 42 standard with all makes of motors and by which with nuts 44 thereon the cross bar 43 is attached to the housing. Most motor manufacturers provide the bar 43. But, to make sure there is such a bar at hand when a motor is to be placed on a truck it is the intent to include one such bar as an adjunct to the truck.

When suspended on the bracket portions 36 the motor 40 will have a tendency to swing rearward toward the truck. To prevent this and to adjust the motor to any desired angle with respect to the frame members 9 and 10 an adjustable holding means is provided. This holding means includes a rod 45 axially movable through a selected one of the holes 30 in the center bar 29 of the lift 23, and held in position of axial adjustment by lock nuts threaded on the rod and abutting the opposed faces of the bar, is provided at its forward end with a fork member 46 which engages the motor housing at a point adjacent but above the propeller 49 and at its other end with a hand crank 47. In this instance the rod 45 extends through a hole 30 at the lower end of the bar 29 and the fork 46 is shown in engagement with the under water exhaust spout 48 of the motor. It will thus be seen that the outboard motor 40 is suspended on the truck in a tilted position, if desired, and securely held against displacement without the use of fastening devices. It will also be observed that the motor is held from the rear with its mounting hangers 57 facing outward from the truck.

To mount the motor the truck carrying it is rolled to the stern of an outboard motor boat such as is illustrated at 50 in Figure I mounted on a boat trailer. The lift 23 is raised by operating the jack lever 32 in the manner described and carries the motor 40 with it to the necessary height. The truck 8 is then moved forward so that when the lift is allowed to automatically lower by control of the jack lever 32, the motor hangers 57 will drop into position on the boat transom 51 and can be clamped thereto without having to be shifted or turned around as is required with prior art trucks. By reversal of these movements the motor may be lifted from the transom by and onto the truck.

By selecting the position of bar 18 and fork member 46 as described above my truck can be readily adjusted to carry any size outboard motor. When the owner of the motor has adjusted the truck to fit his particular motor he never has to change it again for that particular motor.

When the truck is in an upright standing position, the tie bar 12 at the ends of the frame members 9 and 10 will contact the ground, and due to the bends 11 in the frame the latter will have a degree of resiliency whereby any shock will be absorbed by the frame and not by the load carried by the truck. To prevent the truck from being tipped backward a kick bar is provided and comprises, in this instance, a rod 56 normally lying in an inoperative position under or adjacent the transverse frame bar 13. This bar 56 at one end has bearing in a plate 54 pivoted at 55 to a lip 53 projecting rearwardly from the bar 13 and when in operative position has its other end in contact with the ground. The truck or outboard motor mount may be used as an overhaul stand for the motor and, as will be observed, permits placing a pan thereunder for catching oil drip.

It should also be noted that heavy outboard motors can be easily mounted and demounted from boats without manual lifting or turning the motor around but also without changing the tilt angle of the motor with respect to its hangers 57. This tilt angle of the motor is important in boat operation especially in large motors and must be set for each particular motor and boat combination. Prior art trucks in which the motor hangers are used to hold the motor on the truck frequently required changing this tilt angle for handling on the truck. This is entirely avoided by my new truck.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a hand truck of simple, strong and practical construction which meets the objects herein above set forth.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a hand truck comprising an outboard motor mount, of a frame including a pair of side members of round metal tubing bent L-shape to provide for each member, when the mount is in upright position, an upright side portion, a connecting bend and a forward extending ground engaging portion, a tie bar connecting the free ends of said ground engaging portions, a tubular tie bar connecting said upright portion at substantially the top of said bends, an axle projecting from the ends of said tubular bar, and traction wheels on said axle; a lift support bar extending between said upright frame portions and adjustable axially thereof, means for securing said support bar in its position of such adjustment; a lift including top and bottom cross bars slidable on said upright frame portions with said lift support bar arranged intermediate the said top and bottom cross bars, a center bar integral with said lift cross bars for holding them in spaced relation; a jack including a stationary part integral with and upstanding from said support bar, a movable body integral with the said top bar of said lift and means for actuating said jack; a pair of motor supporting brackets extending angularly upward and forward from the said top bar of said lift and terminating in U-shape portions providing a seat for a cross bar on the motor, a motor tilting and holding rod extending forward from and axially adjustable in said center bar, a truck handle extending rearwardly from said lift, and a coiled tension spring anchored to said lift and to said frame at a point adjacent one of said wheels.

2. In an outboard motor mount a combination according to claim 1 but characterized by said handle being a rod bent U-shape with its side arms secured to the said top cross bar of said lift, and including a kick bar pivotally attached to said frame and, when in operative position, engaging the mount supporting surface in rear of said wheels.

3. In an outboard motor mount a combination according to claim 1 but characterized by said center bar of said lift having a plurality of holes one above the other and in any one of which said motor tilting and holding rod is supported in desired axial adjustment, and by said rod including a motor engaging forked portion at its forward end.

4. In a hand truck comprising an outboard motor mount, a wheeled frame including a pair of spaced upright members rigidly attached to forwardly extending ground engaging members, a motor lift including spaced parallel bars slideable on said upright frame members and a center bar connecting said parallel lift bars, a lift supporting bar intermediate said lift bars and secured to said upright frame members, a jack including a stationary member integral with said supporting bar and a movable member integral with said lift, manually operable means for actuating said jack, a pair of motor brackets extending forward from said lift, and a motor holding means extending forward from said center bar, said center bar of the lift being offset forwardly for the greater part of its length and having a plurality of holes therethrough spaced one above the other, said motor holding means being a rod supported by said center bar in any one of said openings and by being axially adjustable, and said brackets terminating at their outer ends in upwardly opening U-shape portions.

5. In a hand truck comprising an outboard motor mounted, a wheeled frame including a pair of spaced upright members rigidly attached to forwardly extending ground engaging members, a motor lift including spaced parallel bars slideable on said upright frame members and a center bar connecting said parallel lift bars, a

lift supporting bar intermediate said lift bars secured to said upright frame members, a jack including a stationary member integral with said supporting bar and moveable member integral with said lift, manually operable means for actuating said jack, a pair of motor brackets extending forward from said lift, and a motor holding means extending forward from said center bar, said lift supporting bar being axially adjustable on said upright frame bars, by the fixed member of said jack being the ratchet faced stem of a bumper jack, by said moveable member being the body of said jack, by said jack actuating means being a lever pivoted in said body member, and including spring means attached to said lift and to said frame, said motor holding means adapted to hold said outboard motor from the rear and being adjustable to hold outboard motors of different length shafts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,731,204 Recchia Oct. 8, 1929 1,747,600 Reardon Feb. 18, 1930 1,892,979 Clark June 3, 1933 2,160,041 Sooter May 30, 1939 2,424,852 Rush et a1. July 29, 1947 2,484,227 Houk et al Oct. 11, 1949 2,645,370 Black July 14, 1953 2,711,152 McGregor June 21, 1955 2,738,086 Reich Mar. 13, 1956 

